The Panther forensics team spent the last week competing against some of the top speech and debate students in the country at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) National Tournament. The tournament had over 6,000 competitors and was held in different schools and venues around Phoenix, Ariz.
Eight students from the forensics team qualified in April and spent hours refining their pieces for national level style and competition. Since the state tournament ended at the beginning of May, they have been working with the coaches to make sure that their performances would be the best they could be.
In addition to Kim and Dan Heath, Great Bend High School has added another coach to its staff. Pamela Williams began working with the students before the national competition and will continue to help coach the team in the 2023-24 school year.
Williams teaches art at Great Bend Middle School and already assists with the GBHS drama program. Williams was a member of both the debate and forensics teams at Lyons High School. She also competed in forensics while in college. These experiences, as well as her theater knowledge, make her a great addition to the team, coach Kim Heath said.
The team faced a wide variety of skilled speakers and performers representing the best of the best from all areas of the country. As senior Maddix Pokorski said, “Nationals was the toughest competition all year. Thousands gathered in one spot to compete in seven main events. The Phoenix heat was the coolest part of the competition.”
During the first two days of the tournament, GBHS’s eight national qualifiers performed their main events. Senior Alondra Alvarez shared a speech about gifted education in original oratory. Pokorski entered international extemporaneous speaking and analyzed various current issues happening around the world.
Alvarez reflected on the competition by saying, “This year was my second year representing GBHS at nationals, and I can honestly say that it has been one of the most unique experiences of my life. I met so many wonderful people, and was lucky enough to hear a lot of talented speakers. I will always be grateful for the opportunity to use my voice, and share my ideas with others.”
The rest of the Panthers were entered in Interpretation events. In duo interpretation, senior Eave Taylor and junior Thomas Henrikson performed a humorous scene adapted from Mark Twain’s “Diary of Adam and Eve.”
Two students from GBHS were entered in dramatic interpretation. Senior Xanna Smith shared a scene about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and freshman Quinton Heath used his scene to speak out against bullying.
Great Bend also had two sophomores qualify in program of oral interpretation. Darcy Feist shared a program about body dysmorphia and Anna Bitter put together a program on domestic violence.
There were more than 260 entries in each of the individual events at the tournament. The students felt that watching others give excellent performances gave them ideas of how to build their own performance and the motivation to push themselves to improve. Sadly, none of the Panthers advanced to the top 60 in their main event.
Fortunately, if a performer doesn’t break into elimination rounds, they will then move on into entirely different supplemental events on Wednesday morning. Smith competed in poetry. Alvarez and Heath both entered prose interpretation. Pokorski presented extemporaneous commentaries. Taylor shared poetry that she had written herself in spoken word poetry. Feist competed in expository speaking, and Bitter honed her storytelling skills. Henrikson tried an event known as extemporaneous debate where he received the topic for the one-on-one debate rounds 30 minutes before the start of the round.
After another day of intense competition, the field of competitors was narrowed to the top 120 in each supplemental event. Pokorski broke to Double-Octo Finals in Extemporaneous Commentary, Bitter in Storytelling, and Taylor in original Spoken Word Poetry. These events all had over 350 entries.
Taylor described her reaction to breaking by saying, “If you would’ve told me a year ago that my poetry would be top 120 in the nation, I would’ve laughed. But now I’m smiling. Because I have achieved something I thought I could only dream of.”
Coach Kim Heath reflected on the week by explaining, “The prestigious national tournament was an exciting chance for talented performers to showcase their skills, build connections with peers across the country, and compete at the highest level of high school speech competition in the world.”
After leaving Phoenix, the team was able to enjoy the Grand Canyon on the way home. The GBHS Debate and Forensics team is grateful for the opportunity to travel and be part of such a dynamic event, Heath said.
